Sashiko and Animism. The article I wrote almost 4 years ago (!) still describes my point well. Shinto (Religion which originated in Japan) is not equal to Animism, but they share some similarities. Shinto is animistic at some level. In Japan, following Shinto, they believed in the existence of “spirit” in every matter. Since Shinto respect lineage, the spirit is often “something” related to the (family) line. Like, as a rough example, my father resides in my thimble (which I think he does not – his spirit resides in something that requires a long story).
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Recycle, Repurpose, and Reuse is an important aspect of Sashiko. Being said, I hope my stories on all of my platforms together introduce what they believed in Sashiko more than “what to do (for the purpose)”. Ask a Japanese why they take good care of a material. The reply would be “just because”. “Mottainai” is a close word for this, but it also requires a long article to explain (it is available on Patreon).
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For me, a thimble is like a family. No matter what, they will support me. A needle is like a partner in stitching (to make a dialogue with fabric). Therefore, a pincushion is also important where my partner can rest well. There is no “the absolute answer” in Sashiko, but there are millions of stories there. I hope they become open minded instead of filtering the stories by focusing on “The (convenient) Answer”.
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幼少期、刺し子は嫌だったのですが、なぜか鶴首針箱に惹かれてました。手持ちの写真はないのですが、ミニ箪笥の上に櫓みたいな針山があるもの。作業場には沢山あったのだけど、「自分専用」のはなくて。「針の本数を常に決めておく」と耳に残る言葉を聞いたのも鶴首針箱の横。好きな数字で良い。でも、始まりと終わりの針の数は揃うように……と。いつか米国に持ってこれるかなぁ。その時は麻の葉柄の針山を載っけようと思っています。
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#Sashiko #JapaneseSashiko #刺し子 #針山 #日本人の刺し子
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